Ida, Damien and Doug

For a couple of years in my mid-twenties (yes, I know I'm dating myself), I lived in Blaine, Washington. Blaine is a small town with a population of about 3,000, where everyone has not only the same area code, but the same first three digits of their phone number (332), and so, can tell each other their phone numbers by just giving the last four digits. Blaine is literally the northwesternmost spot in the contiguous United States, about six hours north of Portland on I-5. At the time I lived there, I had finished three years of college in Canada, and was taking some time off before finishing the fourth. I worked on this side of the border, but spent most of my free time with friends over on the Canadian side. <img width="256" height="244" align="right" alt="" class="right-img" title="Ida" src="/uploads/ida.jpg" />One evening, I took a trip down to Bellingham with the girl who would eventually become my wife (we were just friends at the time), to see <a href="http://www.myspace.com/davidbazan">Pedro the Lion</a> play. A band from New York called <a href="http://www.myspace.com/idamusic">Ida</a>, who I had never heard of, opened. It was a breathtaking surprise. They were good in ways I hadn't before imagined--their performance was as intimate as if we were a few friends gathered in their bedroom. I was struck with a sense that it was a privilege to be in the same room as their performance. I've seen a lot of bands play, but hadn't had the same awe of presence until I stumbled upon a live performance just this spring by Portland's <a href="http://www.myspace.com/goblindpilot">Blind Pilot</a>. Ida released their EP, My Fair, My Dark, this week, and plays The <a href="http://www.dougfirlounge.com/">Doug Fir</a> on Monday with Portlander <a href="http://www.myspace.com/tjoistarajaneoneil">Tara Jane O'Neil</a>. MP3: <a href="http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/shared/uploads/media.php?download=1&folder=media&secure_filename=00145_ida-road_to_ruin_192.mp3">Ida - Road to Ruin</a> (from My Fair, My Dark) MP3: <a href="http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/shared/uploads/media.php?download=1&folder=media&secure_filename=00137_ida-lovers_prayers_192.mp3">Ida - Lovers Prayers</a> (from Lovers Prayers) <a href="http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/media/index.php?artistID=299">More music & videos @ Polyvinyl</a> <img width="183" height="275" align="left" class="left-img" title="Damien Jurado released his eighth album this week." src="/uploads/damienjurado.jpg" alt="" /> Also around that time, my Blaine roommate introduced me to the music of Seattle singer/songwriter <a href="http://www.myspace.com/damienjurado">Damien Jurado</a>. I ended up liking it so much that I booked him to play on my school's campus, a show I'm still proud of to this day. Damien is a storyteller, and his music was my first education in something that is now obvious to me: that not every song written is a first-person, autobiographical wearing of a heart on a sleeve. Sometimes it's a fictional heart, and the music is all the richer for it, even if the person blogging about this music can't refrain from that sort of thing. Damien Jurado's eighth album, Caught in the Trees, also came out this week, and he, too, plays the <a href="http://www.dougfirlounge.com/">Doug Fir</a>, at an early show tonight, with <a href="http://www.myspace.com/jenniferoconnor">Jennifer O'Connor</a>.   MP3: <a href="http://www.scjag.com/mp3/sc/gillianwasahorse.mp3">Damien Jurado - Gillian was a Horse</a> (from Caught in the Trees) MP3: <a href="http://www.subpop.com/assets/audio/2418.mp3">Damien Jurado -Paperwings</a> (from I Break Chairs) What about you? What music did you hear at a particular place and time, that burned itself into your brain and/or your autobiography? Or, what's coming out soon that you're stoked about? The thread is wide open... true

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Ida, Damien and Doug

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